Little In Excess
by Sophini
Summary: "Do you trust me?" Sam whispered, his arms warm and strong around me. "I shouldn't," I whispered. After a lifetime of suffering, the Edlund children are slow to trust and even slower to love. Can the arrival of the Winchester brothers provide a second chance at happiness or can life never be that easy? [Sabriel, Destiel. Dark themes,eg: abuse, self harm, etc]


**(A/N): Hey there. Bit of a taster here, I'm honestly not sure if I like this so far but here we are. Please enjoy. I've never written a Supernatural fic before and hadn't even considered it until last night so I hope this is okay... Let's test the waters ~S**

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><p><strong><em>Castiel<em>**

"They deserve better," Mrs. Stilson murmured over lukewarm coffee as the rain pattered against her windows, leaving grimy trails as the droplets ran down the glass. "Those poor Edlund kids... Orphans! Imagine!"

"Orphans? Oh, haven't you heard the stories? The father isn't dead... Apparently, he _left_."

"Left?"

"When the youngest was just born. I've heard he upped and left without a word. Just gone one morning! No note, no explanation. Just emptied a bank account and went, leaving all those little ones behind."

Mrs. Hart tutted disapprovingly as she stirred more sugar into her tea, too distracted by this new gossiping opportunity to notice the drink was already stone cold.

"Any word on how she died?" She piped up after a moment. "The mother?"

"No idea," Mrs. Stilson frowned. "They only wheeled the body out this morning... With all those little ones watching."

"Those poor, poor children," Her companion sighed. "Pass the scones, will you, Jan?"

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><p>Michael was the one who found her, lying in her bed, cold and unaware as Anna cried from her cot, craving her mother's gentle caress. I remember him screaming, the tortured sound tearing from his throat without his permission as he realised what was happening. Luc and Gabriel were there in seconds, tearing into the room with a ferocity born of brotherly competition.<p>

But this was different.

This time there was no prize, no sense of accomplishment as they skidded to a halt before Mom's bed and saw her lying there, her unseeing eyes catching them instantly.

I remember gathering... Gathering in the living room with the others, too young to truly understand what was happening as Luc called for an ambulance, his hands shaking.

"H-hello," He'd whispered. "I need... I need an ambulance... Yes... No, I -"

Hannah had whimpered the entire time, her tiny hand warm and clammy in mine as she rested her head against my chest, her dark hair tickling my chin. Desperately trying to act older than my meager nine years, I had put my arms around my little sister, trying to be more like my twelve year old brother, Gabriel, as he paced around the room, rocking Anna to sleep in his arms.

My baby sister didn't stir again until one of the women from social services pried her from Gab's arms, her stern voice instantly bringing her to tears.

"No!" Gabriel had cried, "She has to stay with me! She can't sleep without me -"

"Please, I think I can handle it," The woman tried to say kindly, failing miserably as a self entitled drawl crept into her voice. "Your sister will be perfectly fine with me."

"You can't do this," Michael growled, his voice cracking as his twin, Luc, stood silently at his side, his eyes trained on the woman pulling Hannah from my grip. "You can't separate us! We're family! We have to stay together!"

It was another nine years before we were all together again.

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><p><strong><em>Gabriel<em>**

"Sugar?"

"God, yes."

"That'll be three dollars."

Honestly, it took me years to come to grips with it. Dad leaving, Mom dying, my siblings being torn apart... It took time to adjust to. After all, life as a twelve year old orphan, for lack of a better word, wasn't exactly easy.

Grimacing, I headed out into the cold, my head bowed against the blustering wind with a sweetened black coffee clutched in my hand.

I guess I should have realised that Chuck Edlund wasn't exactly the fatherly type. He rolled in each night in the same state as always. Angry. Pissed. Reeking of booze. I'd like to say we were surprised when we realised he was slapping Mom around. But we weren't... After a while, it almost seemed inevitable. There was a small step between beating your kids until they screamed and beating the wife who threw herself in front of them, who tried to shield them with her own body.

And yet, we still loved him.

Our abusive, bastard father. The father we protected when pointed looks came our way, when concerned adults asked about the bruises darkening our skin, inquired about the looks in our eyes. We stayed quiet. We always did.

Each night became the same. Dad would storm in, his breath reeking of alcohol, and suddenly something was wrong. An argument would ensue and suddenly the twins and I were ushering our younger siblings into the backroom, keeping them quiet as my mother's shouts became screams, as Chuck's roars of rage became echoing laughter.

We kept quiet. Out of love. Out of fear. Out of respect gone sour.

And all the while little Anna slept in my arms, seemingly oblivious to the goings on around her as Hannah and Cas snuggled in beside me, too scared to sleep.

Yelping, I twisted around as a long haired giant crashed into me, sending my coffee flying from my hand as his laptop clattered to the pavement, slipping from his over-sized hands as he bellowed in surprise.

"My coffee!" I snarled, yanking the plaid-wearing giant around to face me as he fumbled for his laptop.

"I, I'm so sorry -" The giant muttered, his hazel eyes darting away from me as my hands twisted the shoulders of his shirt. "I didn't -"

"What? Didn't see me? Couldn't control those giant bloody moose feet of yours? God!" I growled. "Watch where you're going next time, you asshole!"

Sighing, I threw the boy away from me, my day instantly ruined as my coffee cup, now empty, rolled onto the road to be crushed under the tyres of an oncoming bus.

"I'm sorry!" The boy called after me, his voice shaken.

"Save it!" I roared over my shoulder.

It was going to be a long day.

**(A/N): Please review, any comments/criticisms would be greatly appreciated, thanks :3 **


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